A Leader's Duty
by Castitas
Summary: Being a leader doesn't always involve a battle. Sometimes, a leader has to take the time to look out for those under their leadership.


As I look out of our dorm's window, I can't help but notice the copious amount of people out and about today. More than usual, actually. With Beacon Academy being the host of this year's Vytal Festival, it was only inevitable before the crowds of tourists and foreign students arrived.

More potential targets for the White Fang to have, as well.

Its been a few days since our battle with Roman in the city. It's taking some time to adjust having my team- no, _friends_\- know that I'm actually not a human, but a Faunus. I'm still not entirely comfortable about the situation or how we got here, but there really isn't much choice. Only thing to do now is to move forward.

Settling back down into my bed, I opened up one of my romance novels to the front page. Weiss and Yang are out "shopping together" for new clothes- if one would call Weiss buying Yang whatever she wanted because she lost a bet shopping together. As for our ever-so-studious leader, Ruby has been spending time down in the library trying to catch up on missed homework before Weiss notices.

Which leaves me in our silent dorm room, missing the usual occupants who typically bring too much noise to the setting. I began reading over the first page of my book, which was about a girl who-

"Blaaake!" A voice calls out from the hallway which ruins my immersion. Looks like Ruby returned from the library earlier than expected. She's been getting quicker at finishing her homework since she and Weiss came to an understanding. Chalk it up to a never-ending supply of sugar-energy, maybe we should start an intervention over her cookie addiction…

"Blake! I got something for you from the cafeteria, I hope you like- woah!" As graceful as to be expected from our excitable leader, she tripped as she entered the room. Sometimes I worry about her.

"Are you alright Ruby?" Wouldn't want Yang to freak out if her sister managed to knock herself into a coma, and I don't want to be barraged with a bunch of questions.

"Never mind about me, look what I got!" Jumping back to her feet, Ruby presented to me a doggie bag that managed to remain unharmed. "It's a tuna sandwich. I know how much you like tuna, so I thought I would bring you some." Running one hand behind her head, Ruby eyed me nervously.

As if she had offended me.

That I was ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Smiling, I replied, "You can leave it on the table. I'm not really hungry right now." Sensing an incoming look of dejection, I add, "That was thoughtful of you."

I returned to my book since I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. Normally Ruby wouldn't interrupt my reading as we've come to an understanding as fellow book lovers. One wouldn't usually expect a… younger girl like Ruby to be a reader, but she's surprisingly well read. Especially when it comes to books about weapons and Grimm.

"So… how've you been today?" Guess Ruby didn't feel like acting normal today.

"Fine, just trying to catch up on some reading while the others are away." Hopefully she takes the hint that I really don't want to be bothered right now. Knowing our attentive leader, she should be able to catch on.

"Whatcha reading?" Seems she's determined to talk today. So much for my peaceful afternoon. "You're not trying to read one of those weird romance novels, are you?" Smirking in smug triumph, as if she could ever catch me reading anything like that.

Wait, why would _Ruby_ even ask something like that? There's no possible way she could find-!

"So… I've been thinking Blake. And I've come to a conclusion!" Interrupting my line of thought, she continued, "We should start a book club."

"Ruby, why is that necessary? Most people here are interested in fighting Grimm, not reading more than whatever Professor Ooblek requires us to." Why is she bringing this up? She knows very well that I prefer to read alone, despite her efforts to read the same books as me. Reading along with one person is more than enough, but a group?

"Well… I figured that… I um… think you would like the company?" She replies meekly.

I blinked.

What? None of this is making any sense. She _knows _I prefer reading alone, so why is she pushing for group sessions? I'm not _that_ antisocial. Unless…

"You know the answer to that. What's the real reason you're here?" I know this is our dorm room, but Ruby isn't capable of keeping a secret for very long. She gets nervous and starts to stutter whenever she's hiding something. I see it all the time when Weiss asks her how she's doing with her studies. Or when Yang asks about her missing hair dryer. _Or why she keeps hiding my bow_.

…

Either way, I know she has an ulterior motive here.

Sighing, Ruby looks down in what I can only assume is embarrassment. "I'm just worried about you, Blake. You spent all this time hiding an important part of yourself! I don't want you to feel uncomfortable being around us."

Oh. She's worried about the fact that I've been hiding that I'm a Faunus since we all met at initiation. And that I'm a former member of a movement that is now considered an infamous terrorist organization by the population. Right.

How do I respond to this?

"Weiss and I made up, Ruby. There's no need to worry about that anymore." Which is true, Weiss had said that she didn't care that I used to be a member of the White Fang, so everything is water under the bridge.

"B-but you've been acting distant lately! More than you normally do! N-not that that's wrong or anything… but you're still acting weird!"

"_Why do you wear that bow, Blake?"_

I can only look to the floor. I guess I _have_ been acting a little off lately, since I've been hiding my Faunus heritage for some time now only for it to be revealed out of my control. I didn't trust anybody with that information, not even my partner. The partner who's supposed to be somebody that I have to trust my life with for at least the next few years.

Never mind the fact that I, the "daughter of the White Fang", revealed myself to the heiress of the SDC. What are the odds of that happening? It should be normal that things would be a little awkward even after we openly accepted one another, given our situation.

"There's a lot of history between the White Fang and the SDC. Weiss must've known a lot of people who were affected or even targeted by the White Fang, so I understand why she was suspicious of me. She still might be, and I wouldn't blame her. I would react the same way had the roles been reversed."

It was an honest, neutral response. For a time, I thought Weiss was just like her father. Stuck up, hateful, arrogant, petty, and annoying. Everything that any normal ex-White Fang member would see in a human, right? Yet… She's not anything like that despicable man, though she certainly can be arrogant. And annoying. One could even say she's a little stuck up.

Not that Ruby would ever admit that about her own partner, of course. She's far too nice for her own good sometimes.

"So… Everything is fine with Weiss?"

"I would be lying if I said I trusted her completely. The Schnees have a history of making promises to Faunus only to renege on those promises when the time comes."

"Oh…" The downtrodden look on Ruby's face could melt the coldest of hearts, but it is true to say that I don't have complete trust in a girl raised by the man named Jacques Schnee.

"Someone once told me that not every batch of cookie is perfect after you bake them." Ruby looks at me with a smile, as if she's had this conversation before. "Sometimes you'll get what you want, sometimes you'll get one that's extra chewy, or one hard enough to crack your tooth!"

If we're being honest with ourselves today, I'd be lying if I said that I knew exactly what she's talking about. "Ruby, what are you-?"

"Just listen! So, sometimes not every cookie in a batch are exactly the same, right?" Ruby looks at me with stars in her eyes.

"I guess?"

"Right! Each cookie has their own special uniqueness about them. Like sometimes they'll have _raisins_ instead of chocolate chip in them." I couldn't help but notice Ruby's grimace at the word "raisins". "Raisin cookies are pretty tricky, they look good like chocolate chips, but they are nowhere near the wonderful flavor that chocolate provides!"

Its official. I think my team leader has lost it.

"But," Ruby pulls out two cookies from her bag, "sometimes you get the cookie that you wanted-" she hands me the cookie- "-and sometimes you don't." All I could really do is stare at it.

This cookie… is warm. Soft, and the chocolate is slightly melted into it. Freshly baked.

"Not all cookies in a batch are bad, Blake." Ruby takes a bite of her cookie before spitting it out in disgust. "Yuck… raisins. Anyway! Sometimes, the batch has some good cookies and some bad. And none of them will be perfect."

Looking back down at her cookie, I finally comprehend her analogy. I get where she's coming from, I shouldn't judge Weiss for the actions that her father has done. It isn't fair to her to do that, its like somebody judging me for solely being a Faunus.

My mother had tried to instill the very same thought into me when I was young. It was when she had helped me after I had unlocked my semblance, she often had me go on missions to scare our neighbors.

"_Wolves are often seen as fearless predators who stand strong in the face of danger, but I'll have you know that I've come across a few wolf Faunus that run scared when you sneak up behind them!"_

I couldn't stop the smile spreading on my face. Ruby's face was a mirror image of my own, her silver eyes shined brightly at her successful lecture.

"That's something my mother would have said." If Weiss had betted that Ruby's smile couldn't reach her ears, she'd owe me half of her estate.

But something was off.

Ruby's smile was big, but her bright eyes dimmed slightly. With a raise of an eyebrow, I opened my mouth to ask-

As suddenly as that aberrant response appeared, it vanished as Ruby turned to leave.

"Well I'm happy to hear that Blake! We're now one step closer to becoming the best group of huntresses this school has ever seen!" Skipping towards the hallway she adds, "Oh, and just so you know, we're going to start training again tomorrow! It'll be you and Weiss versus me and Yang!"

She's gone before I could even give a response.

Remembering the cookie she gave me during her speech, I took a bite.


End file.
